Foolproof
by Jenna822
Summary: *Novel* Lily and Scorpius are in love, at least, they're pretending to be. They have every detailed worked out. It's a foolproof plan! The problem with foolproof plans is...they rarely are. *Fake-Lily/Scorpius and Albus/Scorpius*
1. Lie

**Chapter 1: Lie.**

**.**

Ginny Potter was frustrated. She was used to her daughter's stubbornness, but it was starting to reach an unbearable point. It was a sunny July morning and the woman was treating her daughter and niece to a nice breakfast. Her motivations were not pure kindness, but rather, she wanted something from Lily.

The elder Potter rubbed at her temples with her fingertips and took a long drink from her coffee cup, draining the last of it. "I don't want to hear another word about this. You have to try on the bride's maid dress or...or you just can't be in the wedding party."

Lily just smirked, looked away from her mother, and tossed her soft curls back off her shoulders. "Is that supposed to convince me?"

"Lily." Ginny took a deep breath and looked towards the other girl sitting at their table for a little support. "Roxanne, will you _please_ talk some sense into this girl?"

Roxanne poked at the remnants of her poached eggs with her fork and sighed. "Lily, just try on the stupid dress so that your mum knows if it fits."

"It's hideous." Lily's brown eyes met her cousin's and narrowed.

"Of course it's hideous! It's a bride's maid dress. It's supposed to be hideous so that the bride looks better by comparison." Roxanne dropped her flatware onto her plate as the waiter came by to collect their finished breakfast dishes. "It's one day. You wear the dress, then we burn it in protest after James and Mai leave."

"Burning it seems a little extreme, Roxanne." Ginny frowned at the very idea and picked up the ticket from the center of the table.

"That's what Dominique did to her dress after Victoire's wedding."

"That's not very nice," Ginny scolded.

Lily folded her arms over her chest and let out a small groan. "Alright. Bring the dress over tomorrow and I'll try it on. Like you said -" the next words were clearly forced out between gritted teeth "- it's only for one day."

"There's a good girl." Ginny smiled proudly over her victory.

"You could always just imagine how fun it'll be when your man rips it off you after the wedding," Roxanne added as she took a drink of her orange juice to hide the cheeky grin on her lips.

"Roxanne!" Lily and Ginny echoed each other and tried to restrain their giggles.

"Thanks. I'm sure my mum loves the idea of me having...sex."

"You're twenty years old, Lily. I assumed that it would happen eventually." Ginny gave a shrug, but her tight lips and scrunched eyes showed that she clearly was not pleased with the topic of discussion.

"I'm not." Lily leaned on the table and dropped her voice. "I mean _we're_ not. We aren't having sex yet. We want to wait, you know? Until things are more steady."

Roxanne sniggered behind her hand and relaxed into her chair. "You've been dating this bloke for what...six months now? I'd say that's steady enough."

"You think six _days_ is steady enough," Lily retorted and Roxanne merely grinned in answer. "I just don't think we're ready for that step is all."

"There's nothing wrong with waiting, Lily. You don't have to justify your choice to anyone." Ginny's face relaxed and the delight in her eyes rekindled. "Speaking of..."

"Oh mum, please don't start again," Lily whined. "I've already told you, he's not coming to the wedding. He's going to Glasgow with his boss."

"I just think it's a little ridiculous that you've been together this long and you still haven't introduced him to the family. You could _at least_ bring him over to have dinner with your father and me."

Lily snorted. "Yeah, and let dad give him the stare down. I don't think so."

"Why don't you bring him to dinner tomorrow? You already said that he doesn't leave until Wednesday, so he should be perfectly free to come and have a simple meal with the family. It'll only be your father, me, James, and Mai. And I will make sure that your father is on his nicest behavior."

"I don't know, mum. He might be really busy."

"Listen, Lily, I'm starting to get a bad impression of this guy without even having met him. He sounds like some kind of workaholic. Every time we invite you over, he's got some work thing." Ginny tossed her napkin on the table and pushed her chair back. "Either that or you're just so ashamed of your family that you're keeping him from us."

"I'm not ashamed of you!" Lily stared at her mother's rising figure with shock.

Ginny held up her hand and shook her head; she didn't want to hear any more of it. "He's your boyfriend, if you don't want him around your family, then so be it." She spread out her hands, washing them of the matter. "Now, I have to meet with the caterer."

"Mum, don't be mad at me," Lily begged, chasing after her mother and leaving Roxanne behind at the table. "Mum please." She caught the woman's arm and pulled her to a stop. "I'll bring him to dinner tomorrow. I will. I'm not ashamed of anyone, I love you all."

Ginny tried to hide the satisfaction on her face, but the little twitch at the corner of her mouth gave it away. "I'll see you tomorrow sweetie." She gave her daughter a kiss on the top of the head and continued on her way with a growing smile.

Lily chewed on her bottom lip and pulled at the ends of her coppery hair. "This is bad..."

"Thanks for leaving me behind." Roxanne shoved Lily's shoulder as she stepped up beside her and threw the girl a frown. "Hey, what's wrong? You look like you just sold your soul to the Dementors."

"Worse." Lily groaned and put her forehead on her cousin's shoulder. "I just promised to bring my boyfriend to dinner with the family tomorrow."

"Lily, listen to me." Roxanne forced the other girl to stand up straight and look her in the eyes. "From what you've told everyone, this guy is amazing and perfect for you. I'm sure if he cares about you enough, he'll make a great impression on your parents." She pushed her cousin's hair back and offered up a comforting smile. "I really don't see what the problem is."

Lily tried to smile back, but it was difficult. Of course Roxanne didn't understand; she didn't know the truth. Lily's problem was that her amazing, perfect boyfriend of six long months...wasn't real.

It all began about seven months before the hasty breakfast promise, on Christmas day.

When James Potter got down on one knee, in front of the entire family, and proposed to his long-time girlfriend, he set in motion a series of events that would forever change the lives of both his siblings. The proposal didn't shock anyone; James and Mai had been together since their fifth year of Hogwarts, and eight years was long enough to wait for the two to get engaged.

The impending wedding sent waves of excitement through the family. _Busy_ didn't even begin to describe their lives. Flowers were ordered, caterers sampled, dresses modeled, invitations printed, photography arranged, a venue reserved, and all in a matter of just under seven months. But most important of all, at least in the mind of some of the Weasley clan, dates were chosen.

Lily adored most of her cousins, but two in particular would always stand out from the rest. Roxanne and Dominique were not just family, they were her best friends and closest confidants.

Being the same age, she and Roxanne were practically attached at the hip growing up. Roxanne always had a way of turning Lily's dull and homework-filled afternoons into wild and exciting adventures. The girl seemed incapable of sitting still from the moment she learned to walk. Her magic developed sooner than anyone else in the family's, showing at the mere age of thirteen months. After that, Roxanne always seemed ahead of the curve. Lily often thought her cousin could have been top of their year if she had half a mind to, but books and homework always took a back burner in Roxanne's mind.

And then there was Dominique. She was three years older than Lily and Roxanne and saw herself as a mother hen type. She was constantly showering the two with advice and life lessons. Dominique had made it her life mission to teach them everything she knew, from proper application of makeup to the subtle art of moving from friend-zone to girlfriend. She gave them study tips, guy advice, tricks on dealing with other girls, and even let them borrow from her. But most importantly, she gave them someone to confide in. Lily knew that she could go to Dominique if she had a moral dilemma or just needed a shoulder to cry on; secret keeping was the older girl's strongest trait and she never judged.

Despite how much she loved Roxanne and Dominique, Lily often felt out of the loop. Unlike the other two, she wasn't as in to the whole _dating_ _scene_. She didn't put a priority on finding a boyfriend or having that perfect date for Valentines day. Yes, she'd dated a few boys in her school days, but they were always a side thought for her and it never lasted long. So, when the conversation turned to dating, as it often did, Lily would fall silent and offer mere nods and smiles.

Unfortunately, Lily's lack of enthusiasm in the dating world made Roxanne and Dominique feel as though they should be coming to her rescue. They just couldn't imagine how Lily could be completely content without a boyfriend. Sometimes, Lily wondered that herself. She was secure in her life, loved her job, and enjoyed having alone time, but if she was being honest with herself, it did get a bit lonely. Over the years, her two best friends had picked up the habit of coaxing Lily's love life along.

She knew their intentions were noble. Lily truly believed that the other two merely wanted to see her happy and loved, but it could be really frustrating. There were days when Lily just wanted to have lunch with her cousins without having to hear how she should talk to the waiter more or accept a blind date with Roxanne's coworker's nephew. It was getting to the point where they couldn't go a single shopping trip without her being _accidentally_ pushed into a cute guy or hearing Dominique insist that she would be more appealing if she walked with a little more confidence.

And it was that frustration that led Lily to do something horrible. She had always considered herself to be honorable. She was a good and honest girl. A Gryffindor through and through. But even upstanding young girls can have a moment of weakness. Especially when they're being pushed too hard.

It was just a week into the New Year after James' big proposal and love was forefront on everyone's mind. Lily, Roxanne, and Dominique were all at their favorite Muggle shopping centre, sitting down for a cup of hot chocolate in the midst of their search for the perfect pair of boots. Mind you, while searching for said boots, they'd managed to collect a few bags each, full of _necessary_ winter wear.

Lily groaned as she took her seat and let the bags she'd collected fall from her arm. "I say we try one more store, then you just have to wear one of the pairs of boots you already have." She met Roxanne's eyes and gave her a sympathetic smile. "You've tried on like...fifty pair already."

"It was not fifty, Lily." Roxanne huffed and shifted in her seat, pulling her cup of hot chocolate closer. "I just want to find the right ones. It may just be a first date, but I really think this guy is _the_ _one_."

Both Lily and Dominique rolled their eyes at Roxanne's comment. Perhaps it would have been more effective if the she didn't insist that every guy, or girl, that she dated was _the one_. But that was just Roxanne and they'd long given up on trying to rationalize with her, so neither argued.

"I don't think he's going to care what boots you're wearing." Dominique spooned the whipped cream off the top of her hot chocolate and passed it over to Roxanne. "Guys don't care about that stuff."

"But I do care. I just want everything to be perfect tomorrow."

"It'll be perfect because you'll be there." Dominique offered up a big smile, but her cousin's focus was elsewhere.

"That guy has been staring at you since we sat down." Roxanne kicked at Lily's chair to get her attention and gave a subtle nod towards the guy in question.

Lily didn't bother trying to be discreet; she turned around in her chair and eyed the guy sitting at the table behind theirs. He was good looking enough, but he had a smug smile on his face when Lily met his eyes. "He's probably staring at Domi." She turned back around and scooted her chair closer to the table, making sure that she couldn't be seen from where the guy sat.

"Me?" Dominique almost snorted into her mug. "I can see him from here and he's staring at _you_. You're acting like it's awful to be attractive."

"I am not." Lily pushed her half-finished hot chocolate away and sighed. "Besides, I don't care. I'm not looking for anyone."

"I'm _so_ surprised." Roxanne didn't spare the sarcasm. "You're hell bent on spending your weekends alone, aren't you?"

"I won't be alone." Lily regretted the words the moment they escaped her lips. While she was referring to the fact that she planned on meeting James for lunch Saturday afternoon, the other two girls clearly took another implication from it.

"You have a date?" Roxanne looked near giddy.

"I didn't say that."

"You do, don't you? Lily!"

"I didn't say that. And don't be so loud."

Dominique grabbed her cousin's arm and stared into her eyes with so much hope it was sad. "Tell us everything. Who is he? Where did you meet him?"

And it was then, faced with her cousins' excitement over an assumed date and the threat of being shoved towards the mystery guy at the next table, that Lily did something unthinkable. She lied.

"His name is..._Sss_-pencer." She cringed, both from the lie and her unconvincing tone. "We met at The Jardín."

"The Jardín? That veggie-freak place?" Roxanne crinkled her nose and leaned back in her chair. "Then he's a veggie-head like you?"

"We are not _freaks_ or _veggie-heads_, Roxanne!"

"Sorry!" The girl put her hands up and forced the next words out. "He's a _vegetarian_ then?"

"Yes, he is." Lily nodded and grabbed her bags. "Come on, aren't we supposed to be finding some boots?" She put on a smile but the other two weren't falling for her diversion. "Don't look at me like that, you two."

Dominique also gathered her bags and got to her feet. "We wanna hear more about him. Spill _everything_!"

"There's nothing to spill. I don't know anything else about him. We haven't gone out yet."

Lily thought that would be the end of it. Dominique and Roxanne dropped the Spencer subject and the conversation once again turned to Roxanne's frantic shoe search. It wasn't until Monday morning, when her two best friends showed up at her door, that Lily realized the impact of her tiny lie. The two wanted to know each and every detail of the date with Spencer.

So Lily gave them details.

Spencer became a tall, very attractive, successful wizard who had left Hogwarts a few years before herself. Dominique tried to recall any Spencer she'd been in school with, but none came to mind. Lily passed it off by claiming Spencer was a bit of a wallflower. The more questions her friends launched at her, the more easily the lies came. Her perfect date was an animal shelter volunteer and fund-raising manager. He also went to school part-time in order to become an Animal Welfare Officer.

And Spencer was a perfect gentleman. He'd taken her to dinner at a reservation-only restaurant, where he turned down the wine because, like Lily, he did not drink. After dinner, he took her to a moonlit park where they had vegan cupcakes and talked about their dreams. When Spencer brought Lily home, he gave her a single kiss on the cheek and a promise to call the next day; he kept that promise.

Dominique and Roxanne spent half the morning squealing over each detail Lily gave them. They almost couldn't believe how she'd found a guy so very perfect for her.

Lily never intended things to stretch over six months. She assumed that after a few weeks of pretending to date Spencer, she could create some devastating breakup scene that would leave her a good three months or so of time to grieve the failed relationship. She just wanted a few months without her love life -or lack of one- taking center stage.

But her lies got out of hand. Dominique and Roxanne brought up Spencer at the worst possible time: in front of Lily's parents. With Ginny and Harry under the impression that their daughter had found her soul mate, the charade had to continue. The last thing she needed was her father storming around town, searching for the boy who had broken his little girl's heart. The few times Lily had attempted to initiate the breakup herself, her mother sat her down for a cup of tea and a speech about not letting the good ones get away. Anytime they would insist on meeting Spencer, Lily would claim he had work out of town, was too sick to come over, or was spending time with his own parents.

And with the upcoming wedding taking up so much of her mother's time and energy, Lily didn't want to drag her family's spirits down by admitting she'd lied. That's what she told herself, at least. She knew, deep down, that she was just so ashamed at having lied in the first place, she didn't want her entire family to look at her with disappointed eyes.

Lily was stuck.

* * *

><p><strong>A Note From the Author: Thank you for joining me in my new story! –Jenna<strong>


	2. Mold

**Chapter 2: Mold.**

**.**

Scorpius Malfoy did not appreciate being woken up early. Even more so, he did not appreciate being woken up early by a man in a bright yellow haz-mat suit telling him to leave his apartment. He didn't understand what was going on when he was grabbed up and a breathing mask was shoved onto his face, but he was tired and confused, therefore didn't argue. The young man allowed himself to be led outside wearing nothing but the pair of jeans he'd fallen asleep in. He was thankful that it was the first week in July and he wouldn't freeze.

The moment Scorpius arrived on the pavement outside of his apartment, he caught sight of his neighbors. Everyone who lived inside the tiny, rundown apartment complex had been forced out onto the street. People were clambering to get information and some of them were fighting haz-mat workers, trying to get back inside their homes.

"Scorpius! _Scorpius_!"

The young man turned at the sound of his name being called and pushed his messy blonde hair out of his eyes. "Hey, what's going on?" His question trailed off into a yawn.

"I have no idea." Another young man, the same age as Scorpius, was staring towards the blocked complex in confusion. He was fully dressed and his short, dark brown hair was spiked up stylishly. "I went to get us some muffins and when I got back...this was happening. I was only gone twenty minutes; this is mental!"

"You have muffins?" Scorpius cast a crooked smile at his friend.

"Seriously? We're being pushed out of our flat and you're concerned with muffins?"

"Better than being pushed out of your flat _without_ muffins." Scorpius chuckled, but his friend didn't find it amusing. "Come on, Nate, don't look at me like that."

Nate let out a frustrated sigh and shoved a plain white paper bag into the blonde's arms. "Here. Don't eat the blueberry one, it's mine."

Scorpius was mid-bite of a strawberry muffin when a middle-aged woman, their across the hall neighbor, walked up. "Did you hear?" she asked, looking between the young men. "Apparently they found some toxic mold in the walls on the third floor. Saying we can't go back inside."

"Wait, what?" Nate's face flushed with panic. "Toxic? Inside there?"

"Calm down, she said _third_ floor. We're all the way on the sixth." Scorpius gave a little shrug.

"Doesn't matter what floor you were on." The woman pulled her bathrobe tighter around her body and frowned. "No one is allowed back inside at all. They said the entire place has too high of a risk."

"What about our stuff? I have important paperwork in there! I'm gonna loose my job. This can't be happening. I...I need my toothbrush. I need my _clothes_!"

"Nate! Calm down." Scorpius grabbed the frantic boy's arms and stared into his eyes. "Just relax. I'm sure we can get our stuff out of there."

"Nope." The woman shook her head and crossed her arms. "The yellow suited goons are going to clear the place and anything that isn't toxic will be sent to the station. We can probably pick up our things in about...six weeks." She snorted an unamused laugh.

"Six...weeks?" The panic on Nate's face was near painful to see.

Scorpius pulled him to the edge of the pavement, trying to ignore how bad the hot ground was paining his bare feet. "I'll get your paperwork. Don't worry about it." He'd never been so happy as he was then to have fallen asleep in his jeans the night before. He patted his pockets and breathed a sigh of relief when he felt his wand still resting there.

"H-how?"

"I'll just Apparate inside and grab it. They'll never know."

"No! Scorpius are you out of your mind? What part of _toxic_ didn't you understand? You're not going back inside there."

"Your job -"

"- will understand. I'll figure something out. I'm not letting you do it."

Scorpius handed the muffin bag back to his friend and shrugged. "Fine. But what are we going to do now? I don't even have a shirt."

"You can get one from work," Nate muttered, his mouth full of blueberry muffin. "We'll be fine. We...will be fine. It's fine. Everything will be fine."

"Nate, stop saying fine."

"Sorry."

"We will be fine. I can get something to wear from work for now and you – well you're already dressed, you can talk to your boss about the papers. Maybe you can try and find us a place to live. I don't care if they get rid of the mold, I'm not coming back to this dump. No way he can hold us to our lease after this..."

Nate gave a nod and the two went their separate ways.

Scorpius Apparated to the small alleyway behind the clothing store he worked in. It was dangerous, considering he worked in a Muggle area, but without a shirt, or shoes, he wasn't going to walk the entire way like he usually did. He had to sit on a box in the alley for almost two hours while he waited for the boss to show up, but he managed to get a new shirt and pair of shoes. The boss even let him take it out of his next check since his wallet was one casualty of the apartments' mold problem.

The young man tried to keep his hopes up while he stood behind the cash-till for the better part of the afternoon. He knew that he could count on Nate to come through for them with finding a new apartment. Actually, he knew he could count on Nate for anything.

It had always been that way, since the day they first met; back when Nate was a nerdy Hufflepuff with thick glasses and Scorpius was only four-foot-two and being shunned by half the school. When Scorpius was sorted into Gryffindor, there was an uproar. No one in the Slytherin House would talk to the young Malfoy because they deemed him a traitor; no one in the Gryffindor House wanted anything to do with him because they saw him as an intruder. He was utterly alone.

But one day, whilst Scorpius was in the middle of being pushed around by a few large fourth years, Nate showed his face. He made a stand for the other boy. It didn't do too much good, because they both ended up hanging upside-down from a tree by their shoelaces, but it formed an unbreakable bond.

After that, Scorpius and Nate were best friends. It didn't matter that Nate was a Muggle-born or that Scorpius seemed to stir up trouble everywhere he went. Even after third year, when Scorpius hit a growth spurt and started playing Chaser for the House team, launching him into rising popularity, Nate was still his best friend and the only person he trusted.

It was only natural that the two chose to live together after leaving Hogwarts. Although Nate had a great job at the Ministry and made plenty of money, he never tried to pick out an apartment that Scorpius couldn't pay half the rent on. This, of course, left them forever in shabby buildings because the blonde bounced around jobs and they were never high paying.

So, Scorpius was quite confident that his friend could find another place for them to live. He wasn't at all surprised when Nate strolled through the door of the shop wearing a smug grin.

"You look like you have good news." The blonde hopped up onto the edge of the front counter and stared down at Nate with a huge smile.

"I do have good news." The other young man nodded and leaned against the counter. A flicker of a frown crossed his lips before he went on. "I uh...well I also have just a twinge of bad news."

"Bad news?"

"Very bad news."

"How bad we talking? Out on the streets bad? Move in with my parents bad?"

"No! Not that bad. Just...well I found a place. It's a nice one too."

"That's the good news isn't it?" Scorpius slunk down from his seat and let out a whine. "Nate, what's the bad news?"

"The bad news is...we can't move in until the end of the month. The previous tenant isn't leaving until the twenty-fifth and he has to clean the place up before he can give it over to us." Nate pouted at his sulking friend and heaved a sigh. "Scorpius don't look at me like that; there's nothing I can – Don't whine, it's really unattractive when you whine."

"What do you care?" Scorpius chuckled lightly at his friend and face-planted on the counter. "What are we gonna do until the end of the month?"

"Um..." Nate rubbed at the back of his neck and scooted a few steps back. "Valerie said I could stay with her until it opens up."

"What? You can't move in with her, she'll never let you leave!" Scorpius grabbed Nate by the shirt and stared hard into his eyes. "Please don't let her sink her claws into you like that."

"Stop being so dramatic. It's only a few weeks." Nate pried his friend's fingers off his shirt and huffed as he straightened it out. "You're more than welcome to stay there too. You know she has an extra room. And she already said that – You could at least consider it."

The look on Scorpius' face was clear: he would not be considering it. "I am not staying with you and _Valerie_. I'd rather stay at my parents' house."

"Then stay with your parents."

"Not a chance."

"Scorpius you have to stay somewhere!"

"I know!" The blonde threw up his hands and pulled angrily at his tangled hair. Mind you, his hair wasn't messy and tangled from having been pushed out of his apartment without a comb, the odds of him even owning a comb were very low. And if he did own one, it was probably stuffed in the bottom of a drawer somewhere collecting lint. "I'll figure something out. I will."

"Scor-"

"Don't worry about me, Nate. I'll find a place to go. Like you said, it's only for a couple of weeks. Then we'll be in a new place." He leaned against the counter and tipped his head to a customer who entered the store. "Unless she convinces you to stay with her. Then I'm on my own."

"She's not going to convince me to stay, stop your complaining. Now...I have to go. I'm supposed to be back at work in about ten minutes to refile all the papers I lost this morning." Nate started for the door but threw a glance back at Scorpius. "Wanna meet up at the pub tonight?"

"Yeah sure. I'll stop by the bank after work and get some money. Can't drink too much though, who knows how long before we'll get any of our clothes back."

Nate gave a nod and headed out of the shop, leaving Scorpius to tend to the customer. The rest of the day seemed to drag on. Scorpius had no idea where he could stay until the month. His boss didn't have a place big enough for him to crash at and he didn't have the widest selection of friends to turn to. The only other person he really talked to was his coworker, Millie, and she didn't think it would go over with her boyfriend too well if she let Scorpius stay with her.

The young Malfoy was closing up the shop at the end of his day. He flipped the sign on the door from _Open_ to _Closed_ and headed into the back to put away some new price stickers. The tiny bell above the door brought a frown to his lips. "Can't you read, mate? Sign says closed," he called out loud enough for whoever was in the store to hear.

When no answer came, nor did the bell to signal the person had left, Scorpius stormed back into the store. "Look, I said we're – Oh!" His grey eyes widened at the man standing before him. "Dad? What are you doing here?"

Draco Malfoy was never comfortable in Muggle attire but over the years he'd become accustomed to it as the fashion trends in the Wizarding worlds shifted to mimic theirs. Despite his nice, pressed suit, the man still stood out as odd in a shop full of tight tee-shirts, ripped jeans, and studded belts. He was staring at a rude bumper sticker, a look somewhere between disapproval and amusement on his face, when Scorpius spotted him. "Came to see you."

"I figured as much." Scorpius folded his arms over his chest and glanced over his father's shoulder. "I meant how did you find me. And _why_ are you here?"

"I went to the restaurant where you worked last month. They told me you were here now." Draco cleared his throat and slipped his hands into his pockets, trying his best to look casual. "Did you quit the restaurant or get fired?"

"Does it matter?"

"I suppose not. Was just curious." The elder Malfoy shrugged but his face didn't look quite so cavalier on the matter. "I heard about what happened to your flat."

Scorpius scoffed and turned his back on the man. "How?"

"I was at the Ministry his morning. I overheard Nathaniel telling his boss what happened."

"So you've picked up eavesdropping?" Before Draco could argue, his son spun back around and held out his hands. "So what? You've come to tell me that I shouldn't have moved there? That I should have taken the flat you and mum picked out for me?"

"If you'll drop that attitude, I've come to offer you your old room. At least until you and Nathaniel have found a new place to live."

"Nate."

"Pardon?"

"His name is _Nate_. He can't stand being called Nathaniel. Gods...he's been my best friend for ten years and you can't even get his name right."

"I don't think it's proper to use nicknames when referring to your..._friend_."

"Friend."

"I said friend."

"No," Scorpius argued. "You said _friend_."

"Scorpius, don't be so difficult. I just meant that -"

"I know what you meant. And I've told you a hundred times, _Nate_ is my friend. My best friend." Scorpius picked up the nearest article of clothing to him and started folding it. "I have work to do. If all you wanted was to drag me back home, then the answer is no."

"Where are you going then?" Draco took a few steps towards his son and pulled his wallet from his back pocket. "You can't camp out on the streets."

The young man glared at his father's wallet and shook his head. "I'm staying with a friend. It's just until the end of the month; we've already got a new place lined up after that. And I don't want your money."

"Scorpius, just take it. Nathaniel – Sorry, _Nate_ said that you couldn't get anything from your place. You don't even have a comb." Draco glanced at his son's messy hair and slid forty pounds onto the counter. "Humour me, please? Just take it and use it to get yourself back on track. I'm sure you'll need a toothbrush and some socks." When the younger would not even look at the money, Draco pounded his fist on the counter beside it. "Damn your stubbornness, Scorpius. Just take the money and stop acting like such a...brat."

The young blonde threw an amused glance at his father and snatched the money. He shoved it into his pocket and tipped his head. "Fine. Drinks are on you tonight."

"I'll pretend I didn't hear that." Draco stared at the ground and shook his head. "At least consider coming home for a while. Your mother is having a garden party soon. You used to love helping her with those. Don't walk away from me." The man followed his retreating son into the back room and got into his path. "It would just be a few weeks and you two could have time to...talk."

"I have nothing to say to her."

"Scorpius, she's your mother."

The younger Malfoy put his hands on the wall and took a long, soothing breath to pull himself together. "What day is the party?"

"The eighteenth." Draco put his hand Scorpius' shoulder and gave it a little squeeze. "Don't you think everything's been tense enough as it is? I'm tired of having to ask perfect strangers where my own son is working. I don't want to find out that you're in trouble from listening in to conversations."

Scorpius looked up and quirked a brow.

"Yes, I listened in. I heard your name and I eavesdropped. Big surprise; your father isn't perfect." Draco waved his hands and bobbed his head back and forth, making a goof of himself. "I wouldn't have to listen in to other people if you would tell me when something happens on your own."

The younger blonde leaned back against the wall and nodded. "I'm not moving back home. I'll _think_ about coming to the party. But I swear if she starts in on me, I will never..."

"She won't." The man didn't sound even the slightest bit convincing. "You'll wear something nice, right? Nothing like...this." He plucked a shirt from the shelf beside his son and held it up; on the front was a very sexually suggestive caption and a pair of multicoloured lips. "Wouldn't hurt you to get a hair cut, either," Draco added, though he was clearly teasing.

"Not a chance!" Scorpius slapped his hands protectively over his mess of blonde hair. "Look, I just said I'd think about coming. If I do, then I will dress in the most non-_me_-like clothing I can find." He snatched the racy tee-shirt back from his father and offered up the first real smile since the man walked into the shop.

Draco smiled back at his son and started out of the shop. He stopped at the door and turned back for one last question. "You sure you're going to be okay?"

"I'll be fine." Scorpius watched his father walk out of the store, the tiny bell above the door once again making itself known. "Thanks, dad," the young man whispered, though his father was already gone.

* * *

><p><strong>A Note From the Author: Thank you for reading! :) –Jenna<strong>


	3. Offer

**Chapter 3: Offer.**

**.**

Lily was still fretting over her promise by the time eight o'clock rolled around. She'd spent half the day trying to think of excuses, different illnesses, possible catastrophes, anything that would get _Spencer_ out the dinner date with her parents. She spent the latter half of the day trying to write out the perfect confession speech she could give to her parents. She never made it past _Mum, dad, I have something to tell you_. Every moment she thought about it, she felt more ashamed and scared. She just wanted to forget her problems for the night.

So when Roxanne came beating on her apartment door, demanding they go out, Lily happily obliged. The girl wasn't the biggest fan of pubs, seeing as she didn't drink, but she was in no mood to put up a fuss. The two arrived at the local Muggle pub just as things were starting to get busy. The music was a little too loud, the people were a little too rude, and the drinks were a little too expensive, but Roxanne loved the place and Lily loved Roxanne too much to complain. The red-head ordered herself a cranberry juice with soda and took a seat at the very end of the bar with Roxanne and her beer.

It only took five—maybe ten—minutes for the two to be approached for a dance. With one small glance back at her cousin, Roxanne took a man's hand and disappeared onto the dance floor. Lily watched her go then turned her attention to her drink.

"Now what's a sweet little bird like yourself doing wasting away at this bar?"

"I'm not interested." Lily's tone was biting as she spared a single look towards her assumed suitor. "Oh!" All signs of annoyance on the girl's face instantly transformed into a warm smile. "I would say you look great, but honestly, you look a little worn right now, Malfoy."

Scorpius gasped, laid his hand over his chest, and closed his eyes. "You wound me with those harsh words, Potter. Like a knife -" he patted his chest "- right here." After only a moment of dramatics, the young man dropped his hands and took Roxanne's abandoned seat. "Honestly though, I didn't figure you for the type to be in a place like this."

His words, while completely true of Lily's nature, were mere assumptions. Scorpius and Lily were not friends; acquaintances, perhaps, but even that would be a bit more than reality. In school, they'd occasionally walked together in the hallways, had friendly greetings around the common room, and made light chit-chat at Quidditch victory gatherings. Since school, the two had come across each other no more than a handful of times, each crossing unremarkable and brief.

"I'm not, usually. Roxanne dragged me here." She tipped her glass in the general direction her cousin had disappeared to. "What about you? Bit far from Wiltshire, aren't you?"

Scorpius cringed and started waving down the bartender. "I don't...I don't live with my parents. I live here in London. Well, I did until this morning when I was not-so-nicely tossed out on my backside."

"Trouble with the missus?"

"Only if you wanna call toxic mold my missus." Scorpius let out a laugh and slapped his hand on the bar in another attempt at catching the bartender's attention. "The complex I was living in got infected, everyone was tossed out." He let out a heavy sigh and gestured at the man who continued to ignore him. "I swear, it's like he can't even hear."

Lily's lips tugged into a half grin and she cleared her throat. All it took was a sweet-as-pie _excuse me_ and some lash batting to get the bartender over to them. Scorpius frowned and ordered two beers, feeling very slighted by the other man's behaviour.

"You're here with someone?" Lily let her gaze fall onto the two drinks.

"Nate's supposed to be meeting me here in a few minutes." Scorpius straightened up and looked to the door, watching for his friend. He checked the clock above the bar then looked back to the door once again. "There he – oh gods, he brought _her_." He waved across the pub and flagged down Nate, who was dragging a girl along behind him. "I didn't know she was coming along." The young man tried his best to smile at the intrusion of a female and handed Nate his beer.

"You act like you're not happy to see me." A young girl, short, with dark hair down to her waist, tipped her head and flashed the blonde a sarcastic smile.

"Oh, Valarie, you know it's always a pleasure to see you." Scorpius tipped up his drink and tapped off a rude hand gesture against the side of the bottle.

"Is this your date?" Valarie's tone was overly enthusiastic as she looked towards Lily and clasped her hands together in front of her. "Wait, I know you. You're uh...Lucy Potter, right?"

"Lily. And I'm not...not his date." She peeked over at Scorpius from the corner of her eyes and chewed her bottom lip. Things were getting a little tense for her liking.

Valarie made a breathy laugh and looked between Scorpius and Lily in disbelief. "I was joking. I don't actually think _you_ are his date."

Lily had never felt so offended in her life. True, she didn't consider herself to be a top catch, but the other girl's tone left a sour taste in her mouth. The way she emphasized _you_ like Lily wasn't good enough to actually be Scorpius' date. The red-head pursed her lips and turned back towards the bar, wanting to keep the other girl from her vision.

"Did you find a place to stay?" Nate's voice cut through the tension like a rusty butter knife; it was forced and unnatural. He put his arm around Valarie's shoulders and pulled her closer to himself. The girl's hostile frame seemed to melt under his arm and she wrapped her arms loosely around his waist.

"Of course I did. I told you I'd be alright." Scorpius took another long drink and closed his eyes.

Lily could see it all over his face. Malfoy was lying through his teeth. She didn't know why he would lie about it—and quite truthfully she didn't care—but the look on his face was painful to watch. At the time, she didn't have a clue what came over her at that moment. Perhaps it was his distressed features, perhaps it was her need to redeem her importance in front of Valarie. Looking back, she might say that she merely felt sorry for Scorpius. Whatever her reasons, the girl tucked her coppery hair behind her ear and with great confidence informed them: "He's staying at my place."

Three sets of eyes watched Lily as though they were waiting for a punchline. Disbelief and shock read in each expression. The red-head licked her lips and met Scorpius' eyes. "Unless he's changed his mind already. I'm sure there's someone else he can call."

"No! No, I uh..." Scorpius couldn't quite wrap his head around the situation but he wasn't about to make Lily look like a fool after she went out on a limb for his sake "...I haven't changed my mind."

"I didn't realize you two were even...close." Nate gestured between the two liars and frowned. "Hey, isn't her brother the one who used to shove your head in the toilet if you got -"

"Albus would never do that!" Lily's face was cold as she looked up at the accuser.

"He means James," Scorpius corrected. "And it was only once!" he added quickly, looking back up at his best friend. "That was years ago, can we just forget about it? It's a nice night, let's just enjoy it." The blonde got off his bar stool and held his hand out towards Lily. "Would you like to dance with me?"

Lily would have said no—after all, she couldn't have Roxanne see her dancing with Malfoy when she was dating the oh-so-perfect Spencer—but the look in his eyes told her that Scorpius had something other than dancing on his mind. She took his hand with a tight smile and let him tug her off to the back. The two slipped out of a side door and headed into the small alleyway beside the building.

"I just wanted to thank you for what you said back there." Scorpius patted down his pockets and pulled out a pack of cigarettes. "The thought of Nate dragging me to Valarie's place makes my toes curl."

"I'm guessing you're not her biggest fan." Lily scrunched her nose at the boy's smokes and took a step away from him.

"You met her."

"Yes, she was a bit..."

"I could think of a few dozen ways to end that sentence, darling. None of them appropriate to say in front of a lady of course." He gave the red-head a huge smile and leaned back against the wall. "Why'd you do it? Tell them I was staying with you."

"You looked...in trouble. I just wanted to help." Lily folded her arms and glanced aimlessly around the alleyway. After a minute, three young men filed into the area to partake in cigarettes, like Scorpius, and she found herself growing more and more uncomfortable. When the blonde was finally finished, she was more than ready to get back inside the pub. "Do you really not have anywhere to go tonight?" she asked as they made their way back towards the bar.

"No, I don't. I really can't afford it, but I figure I'll have to get a room at one of the dive motels around here."

"You..." Lily bit her bottom lip and grabbed Scorpius' hand to get his attention. "If I let you stay over for just tonight, would you be able to find a real place to stay tomorrow?" Her voice was hesitant and nervous, but she really did want to help him out. He had always been nothing but nice to her and the idea of such a nice guy being put out in some horrible room that he couldn't even spare the money for...it was an unpleasant thought.

Scorpius' eyes widened considerably. "You're serious?" When he found no trace of joking on the girl's face, he let himself believe it. His lips tugged into a crooked smile and he pulled Lily into a friendly, grateful hug. "You're amazing. Thank you!" He released her and looked deep into her kind brown eyes. "I mean that. You're doing me a bigger favor than you can imagine. And I'll find a way to repay you."

"Just promise me you won't end up being some creep who puts his shoes on my couch." Lily laughed quietly and pulled her hair over her shoulder. "And you can't smoke in my apartment; it's gross."

"I won't. I promise. To both of those."

The two went their separate ways for a while, promising to meet up at the door just before twelve.

As much as Lily wanted to, she knew that hanging around Scorpius and his friend would put Roxanne on high alert that something was going on. Plus, the idea of spending even one more minute around Valarie made her jaw clench. She managed to pry herself away from her cousin at five till midnight. If it were up to Roxanne, they'd stay until the place closed down, but she was so caught up with dancing, she didn't mind Lily cutting out on her early.

The young woman found Scorpius leaned up against the building beside the door. He was smoking another cigarette, hopefully his last for the night, and chatting with some bloke she'd never seen before. The moment the blonde caught sight of Lily, he waved away his conversation and hurried over to her. It was a quiet walk back to the apartment; with only minor chit chat about the weather passing between them. Lily could tell that Malfoy had a lot on his mind, but she didn't pry. And Scorpius, even though he wanted to talk openly with Lily, was a few beers too far to make real intelligent conversation.

"You can take the couch," Lily said as soon as the two stepped into her small, one bedroom apartment. "I have some extra blankets and a pillow, but I don't have any more sheets."

"That's alright." Scorpius rubbed at his dreary eyes and flashed Lily a big smile.

"Do you have clothes?"

"Not really. I'll just pick up a few things at work tomorrow."

"You sell clothes?"

Scorpius snorted a laugh and flopped down on the couch. He tipped his head back onto the edge and nodded. "Yeah, I work at Studz and Stuff. With a _Z_." He traced the letter Z in the air with his finger and laughed again, finding the spelling more humourous than he would have if he weren't under the influence. "It's a Muggle store."

"I see." Lily moved across the room to collect the offered blanket and pillow for Scorpius. "Well, if you want a shower in the morning, you're welcome to it. And if you want a different shirt to wear tomorrow, I have some old ones. They're guy shirts; just regular tee-shirts." She placed the pillow into the young man's lap and unfolded the blanket. "And there's coffee if you -"

"Lily, you don't have to be that nice." Scorpius smiled and took the blanket gently from the girl. "I'm already beyond grateful to you. This is enough."

Lily tucked her hair behind her ears and turned away from his line of sight. "Well...goodnight then."

"Goodnight, Potter."

The next morning, Lily's alarm clock took the form of a pounding on her apartment door. The girl groaned and pushed back her blankets, then slipped on her fuzzy house-shoes and scooted into the living room. The mess from the night before was already picked up. The blanket was neatly folded and the pillow atop it. There were no traces of Scorpius having stayed the night and for a moment she thought he might have already left. But the sound of a running shower just beyond her bathroom door told her otherwise.

Another pounding on the door and Lily sighed. "I'm coming! Jeeze." She pulled open the door and dragged her hand through her hair, pulling the bed mussed copper curls from her eyes. "Mum?" Her eyes widened at the sight of her mother, and cousin Roxanne, standing at her door with a dress bag.

"Am I early?" Ginny Potter checked her watch and waved her daughter aside so she could enter the apartment. "I texted you that I would be here at eight. It's almost eight. Don't tell me you forgot."

"No, I didn't forget." Lily eyed the dress bag and grimaced. "I forgot to set my alarm." Her eyes flashed to the perky looking Roxanne as the girl trailed Ginny inside. "How are you already awake?"

"I never went to bed." Roxanne shrugged and threw her arm around Lily's shoulders. "Good news. The dress is less hideous than it looks in the magazine."

Lily rolled her eyes and tugged at her night shirt. "I just woke up, I'm not really ready for this yet."

"Well you should have set – What's that?" Ginny perked up her head and looked towards the bathroom door. "Was someone taking a shower? I thought I heard water." She looked to her daughter with expectant eyes and tipped her head.

"Oh, um..." Lily gestured wildly to the door and stuttered out an answer that didn't come close to being legitimate words.

But Ginny didn't have to wait for an answer. The bathroom door swung open, revealing Scorpius Malfoy in all his freshly showered glory. He was—thankfully—wearing jeans, but a shirt was no where to be found. The young man's hair was sopping wet and hanging down around his face in thick curls. A large towel was draped around his shoulders, one hand rubbing it through the side of his hair. The moment he spotted a living room full of women, his grey eyes nearly bulged out.

And the silence that fell was so awkward, Scorpius didn't know what to do. He opened his closed his mouth, floundering for speech. He finally managed a "you said shirt" before Lily grabbed his arms and shoved him into her bedroom. The red-head threw a shirt at him and he was dressed in a flash. The blonde was hurried out of the apartment, his shoes still in hand. Roxanne and Ginny watched on with a stunned silence.

The moment Lily closed the door, she turned to her mother and smiled. "So just bring the dress in here, I can't wait to try it on!"

"Lily Luna Potter, you explain yourself. Was that or was it not _Malfoy's_ son that you just tossed out of your apartment?" Ginny turned loose of the dress and pointed at the door, her eyes locked dead on her daughter. "And was he in your _shower_?"

"Hey, at least he was in there alone."

"Roxanne!"

"What? I'm just saying..." Roxanne pushed her hair into her puffy, dark ponytail and grinned. "Wait a minute...I saw you talking to him at the pub last night. I didn't realize that it was Malfoy at the time but I...I am almost positive you were talking to him."

Ginny looked between Roxanne and her daughter, her face growing more confused and concerned. "Lily, did you pick up a date at the pub and bring him home with you?"

"No!" Lily waved her hands desperately and tugged at her hair. "It isn't like that. I was talking to him and he slept over last night but -"

"Way to go, Lily." Roxanne earned herself two identical Potter-woman-glares.

"It wasn't like that!"

"Lily..." Ginny rested her hand on the girl's arm and looked into her eyes. "Are you cheating on Spencer?"

"No!"

"Oh, oh, oh, oh, oh! I get it!" Roxanne flailed her hands and grabbed Lily's shoulders. "I get it now. I do. It all makes sense!" She put her hands over her mouth and bounced on her toes. When Lily and Ginny didn't seem to be _getting it_ as she did, Roxanne just smiled wider. "Scorpius Malfoy is Spencer, isn't he?" Her voice was laced with excitement and mystery.

"What?" The eldest Potter laughed and folded her arms over her chest.

"It all makes sense," Roxanne repeated. "That's why she's hasn't introduced him to anyone. That's why she's been keeping him away from Uncle Harry and James. Those two did _not_ get along in school."

Ginny put her hand on her niece's arm and pushed her gently out of the way. "Lily...is what she's saying true? Have you been dating Malfoy and telling us his name was Spencer? Because hunny, if you're cheating on that wonderful guy..."

"I'm not a cheater, mum!" Lily put her hands on her cheeks and looked up into her mother's eyes. Her mind screamed at her to just be honest; to confess that there never was a Spencer; to confess that she was nothing but a foolish, little girl lying to everyone for six months. The red-head let out a shaky breath and shook her head. "I'm sorry, but I've been lying to you all."

"Lily...?"

"There never was a Spencer." She looked at the floor and closed her eyes. "Roxanne's right. It was always Malfoy."

* * *

><p><strong>A Note From the Author: Thank you for reading! I know this took a while, but with finals right around the corner and summer coming up, the next chapters should be more timely. :) –Jenna<strong>


	4. Request

**Chapter 4: Request.**

**.**

Scorpius had been in a lot of uncomfortable situations over his twenty-one years of life, but that morning was the worst he'd ever seen. Waking up in a strange apartment with only fractional memories of how he got there was the least of the blonde's concern. He could only hope that he hadn't said or done anything stupid towards Lily before passing out cold on her couch. He did his best to make himself as least intrusive as possible: he stayed utterly silent, folded up his blanket, kept his shoes out of the way, denied himself his morning cigarette. If it weren't for the smell of the pub that still lingered on his skin, he would not have taken her offer to use her shower, but he couldn't show up to work smelling like he had been up drinking all night. Even if it was the truth.

If he could have one do-over for that morning, it would have been the shower. He didn't know that when he emerged from his steamy refresher that he'd be faced with the accusatory gaze of Ginny Potter and...oh he couldn't remember the other's name, but he knew it was one of Lily's cousins. There were just so many and he was never one to follow their family business matters. He should have just gotten dressed and escaped when he had the chance. But no. He just _had_ to take the shower. And being seen without a shirt, in sweet Lily Potter's apartment, was not the worst of it. The red-head had shoved him from her door, shoes in hand, without his cigarettes.

So, Scorpius was forced to take a seat on the stairway in order to put his shoes back on. That wouldn't have been so bad if the door slamming commotion hadn't called around several neighbors to watch his hasty removal. What would people think? He could only be thankful that it was a Muggle apartment building. All the Saints couldn't help him if someone carried this sort of scandal to his mother. The young Malfoy's uncomfortable morning did not end with the walk-of-shame from Lily's apartment building. He then got to spend several tense minutes explaining to his coworker, Millie, why he smelled like a female's shampoo.

And all of it without a single smoke or even a cup of tea to balance him out.

By the time noon rolled around, Scorpius thought the worst of his day was behind him. Nate arrived for his lunch hour so they could skip out to have a quick bite together. The blonde was afraid that his friend would question him on his connection to Lily and how he managed to swing a nighttime invite, but he did not. Thankfully, the topic was never breached. Scorpius was sure that he was in the clear and could put the whole mess behind him.

Until he arrived back at work after his lunch break. Lily Potter's coppery mane was unmistakable, even pulled back into a loose plait. And the girl could not have looked more out of place in her pastel blue pleated skirt and blouse. Especially compared to the green-hair-streaked, ripped jeans wearing Millie, who was standing in front of Lily, waving a piercing gun. Scorpius was tempted to turn tail and run, but his coworker caught sight of him before he had a chance.

"Come here; would you tell this girl how hot nose rings are?" Millie put her hand on her hip and waved Scorpius over to them. "Wouldn't she look _gorgeous_ with a nice silver stud?"

The blonde put his fingers over his lips to keep from laughing at Lily's terrified face. He pushed the piercing gun out of sight and shook his head at the eager salesgirl. "Trust me, she's not the type." He laid his hand gently on Lily's shoulder and guided her to the other side of the store—partly to get her away from Millie, and partly so that he wouldn't be seen talking to her. It wasn't that there was anything _wrong_ with Lily, but she was the kind of girl that would call the wrong sort of attention to the young Malfoy. "What uh...what are you doing here?" he asked softly.

Lily flashed the young man a bright smile and chewed at her lower lip. "You told me where you worked last night." She let out a slightly nervous laugh and glanced around. "Studz and Stuff. With a _Z_." She traced the letter into the air, same as Scorpius had done the night before.

He groaned silently and stuffed his hands deep into his pockets. "I was actually wondering more like...why you were here, not how you got here. If this is about the shirt, I can send it back to you tomorrow. I'll even have it -"

"No. No, it isn't about that." Lily twisted her fingers around her purse strings and shifted uneasily. "Well I brought you these back. I thought you might want them." She fished out Scorpius' near-empty pack of cigarettes from her bag and handed them over.

"You came all this way to bring me these?" Scorpius threw the red-head a quizzical look and pocketed the returned goods. He was feeling a bit more amiable and less ashamed to be seen with her all of a sudden. And he knew how he was spending the last fifteen minutes of his lunch break. "Thanks."

The girl let out another nervous laugh and her face flushed with worry. "Do you...do you have a few minutes? I really need to talk to you and it could take a little while."

"Come out back with me." Scorpius led the girl through the store and out into the back alley. He pulled up his usual crate and let her take a seat upon it while he leaned against the brick wall of the abandoned store next to Studz and Stuff. "You have -" he checked the time "- ten minutes." He slipped his lighter from the pack of smokes and lit up while Lily began to talk.

By the time the girl was finished with her story, Scorpius was sure that she was making it all up. It seemed so outlandish. Fake dates, perfect guys with perfect jobs, six months worth of making up excuses, pretending to be in love with some fabricated bloke just to keep her family happy: it was all story book material, surely. He could only stare at Lily with a vacant, confused expression when she reached what he thought to be the end of her tale. "And so I promised to bring him to dinner tonight."

"That...has got to be...the most ridiculous thing I've ever heard." Scorpius waved the butt of his cigarette at the red-head before dropping it to the ground and stomping it out. "There's one thing I don't quite get though." When Lily just looked up at him with expectant eyes, he took a seat beside her on the crate. "Why in the hell are you telling _me_ all of this?"

"Well...here's the funny part." Lily cleared her throat and launched into detail of the events that transpired after Scorpius had left her apartment that morning. She told him how she allowed her mother and cousin to think that he, Scorpius Malfoy, was really her perfect Spencer and she'd been too scared to tell them before. "The worst bit of all...my mum still expects him—you—to be at dinner tonight."

Scorpius was speechless. He just stared at Lily like the girl had turned him to stone with her words. It took every bit of strength to pull himself together long enough to laugh. "That is absurd. That is beyond absurd. I take back what I said before. What you've just said..._that_ is the most ridiculous thing I've ever heard." He shook his head and went straight for another cigarette. "And your mum just believed that load of nonsense, did she? Every word of it?"

"Yes, she did. I'm not...I'm not a bad person, Malfoy. I'm really not. My family has no reason not to trust me when I tell them something."

"No reason?"

"Well...other than the whole _lying about Spencer_ thing. But they don't know I've been lying! And I really...really don't want them to ever know."

"I understand. I really do." Scorpius offered up a sympathetic smile. "But what I still don't understand is why you're here. Why are you telling me all of this?"

Lily's face flushed as bright as her hair. She started tugging on the ends of her plait and dragging her toes back and forth across the dirt below them. "This is really hard for me. I've never...asked anyone for a favor or help before. Especially someone I don't know that well." She took a deep breath and looked up at the blonde, her eyes met his and she attempted to gather all the courage she had. "I want you to come to dinner with me tonight. Pretend to be my boyfriend. Then my parents will be satisfied and they'll get out of my hair about it and I can figure out some way to pretend that we break up after the wedding."

Scorpius' face fall and he slowly shook his head like he'd just heard some devastating medical news. "Oh, darling...if I would have known that you were off your rocker, I wouldn't have agreed to stay at your place last night."

"I am not!" The red-head jumped to her feet and flailed her hands down. "I'm _desperate_. You think that I wanted to come here and ask you for this? I didn't. I wouldn't even be in this mess if I hadn't let you stay over last night. I could have found someone else but..."

"You're saying this is _my_ fault?"

"No, of course not. But I helped you out."

"And I said thank you. I told you how grateful I was; am."

"You said. You said that you'd find some way to repay me for my kindness. Don't you remember?"

Scorpius put up his hand and leaned away from the frantic girl. "I do remember. But I was thinking more along of the lines of sending you a nice fruit basket or some flowers. Not pretending to date you for some crazy scheme against your parents."

"It isn't crazy." Lily hung her face into her hands and whimpered softly. When she finally looked back up at Scorpius after a minute, her eyes were watery and red. "It's just one dinner. And it's at my parent's house, so we won't even be seen together if that's what you're worried about."

"It isn't." Scorpius turned away from her teary, brown gaze and put his second cigarette to his lips. "I'm sorry, Potter. I really am grateful for your help, but you're asking too much of me."

"How much?"

"What?"

"I asked: how much." Lily dropped back down onto the crate beside Scorpius and forced him to look at her. "I can pay you. I'm not rich, but I have money and I can pay you to do this for me. It's one night."

"I could never take money from you, darling." Scorpius pressed his lips together and kept his eyes on the ground to avoid the guilt-stare.

The young woman took a deep breath and scuffed at the ground. "What about a new job? We have an opening at the Prophet right now and I can put in a great word with the editor."

"I know it may be hard for you to understand -" Scorpius gestured towards Lily's attire and tilted his head "- but I actually like my job here. And I don't need help. I don't need money. I don't need anything from anyone. I'm an adult."

"You sound like a stubborn old Gryffindor."

"Well...that's exactly what I am."

"So am I; so you should know that I'm not just going to give up. Tell me, just tell me whatever you want and it's yours. Please, Malfoy." The girl clasped her hands in front of her and arranged her face like she was holding back tears. "It's one night. It's one single dinner and then you'll be on your way to Glasgow for some work thing and when the wedding is over, I'll make up some reason that we've broken up and it'll all be over. _Please_."

"Why can't you just tell your mum and dad the truth?" Scorpius asked, his tone exhausted. "They love you, right? They'll forgive you."

"It's gone too far. Maybe if I'd come clean in the first month or something, but the whole family believes my stupid lies. It isn't just my mum and dad. It's my best friends too; Roxanne and Domi, they'll be so mad if they find out."

"They very well should be." Scorpius stomped out his smoke and got to his feet, wiping his palms down the length of his jeans. "If they're your best friends, you shouldn't have been lying to them. Just the thought of ever lying to Nate makes me feel queasy."

"I made a mistake. You think I don't know that? You think I don't feel sick and guilty about it?" Lily wiped her fingers across the base of her lashes, trying not to smudge her faint makeup. "I just want to end this all without making a complete fool out of myself. I want to keep my dignity. Is that such a horrible thing? I don't want everyone to look at me like I'm a bad person."

"Listen Potter...uh, Lily...I'm sorry. I really am. And I hope that you find a way to settle everything, but I can't help you. My life is messy enough without adding this on top of it. I'm so..._so_ sorry. I have to get back to work now..."

"It's alright." Lily's voice sounded broken and hollow, like all trace of hope had washed from her body. "I understand. I shouldn't have come here and bothered you with this. It's my burden; I'm sorry." Before Scorpius could even think about replying, Lily turned on the spot and popped away.

The blonde stared at the spot where the girl had Disapparated from and hung his head. He tried to push her out of his mind as he finished his shift. He tried to forget the tears in her eyes. He tried to forget the sound of her desperate pleas. He tried to forget her broken words. But he couldn't. The red-head was still bogging down his every thought as he closed up the shop and headed to the Ministry to meet up with Nate. The two had planned to catch dinner together before Scorpius went off in search of some cruddy motel he could spend a few weeks in while waiting on the apartment. He really couldn't afford it, but when he considered that, his thoughts trailed off to Lily's offer of paying him. He slapped himself in the side of the head, trying to rid his mind from the girl's ridiculous scheme.

"Finally knocking some sense into that thick head of yours?"

Scorpius spun around at the sound of his father's voice. His eyes widened and he balked at the man before him. "What are you doing at the street entrance?" The blonde looked around the area as though he were on some kind of hidden camera prank show. The few times he'd gone with his father to work, as a child, the man had never used the Muggle street entrance.

"I'm meeting your mother for dinner. There's a little bistro that she enjoys a few blocks from here. We go once a month. You would know that if you came with us every time we've invited you." Draco approached his son and gave him a look over. "Rough day?"

"You could say that." Scorpius dug his smokes out of his pocket and reached for his lighter.

"I'm standing right here." Draco held out his arms and scoffed.

"Yeah...and?" Scorpius just looked up at his father with an uncaring smile.

"And -" the man snatched the cigarettes from his son's hand and tossed them smoothly into the nearest rubbish bin "- those things are disgusting." He shuddered a little and started fiddling with the latch on his briefcase.

"Really dad?" Scorpius looked at the rubbish bin and threw up his hands in frustration. "Those were the last of what I had."

"Good." Draco didn't look the least bit sorry. "I hate that you picked up such a nasty habit. But I suppose that Miss Potter will break you of that habit, won't she?"

Scorpius wasn't sure he'd heard right. Had his father just mentioned Lily? "I'm sorry but...what?"

"Miss Potter. _Lily_. It is alright if I call her Lily, isn't it? After all, you two have been dating for...what was it she said? Six—seven months now?"

"I'm sorry but..._what_?" Scorpius repeated. All the colour drained from the young Malfoy's face as he looked up his father with stunned eyes. "I am _not_ dating Lily Potter. Where the hell would you get an idea like that?"

"From your mother." When Scorpius continued to look at his father in shock, Draco licked his lips to hide the smug grin forming on his face. "She came by today at lunch. Started going on and on about how she heard from your aunt Daphne, who heard from Mrs. Weasley—uh, Angelina, that is—who heard from her daughter that you and Miss Potter have been an item for quite some time now."

That London street had never felt colder. Even on that hot July evening, Scorpius broke out into shivers. "But...I mean...you...you know that isn't true, right? Of course _you_ know that isn't true. Dad, tell me that you set her right. Tell me that you told mum that it wasn't true." The blonde met his father's eyes and pleaded for him to confess that the whole thing was just some joke. "Dad..."

"What would you have me tell her?" Draco laid his hand on Scorpius' shoulder in an attempt to comfort the boy. "You want me to set her right? Tell her everything?"

"No! Not _everything_. Never everything." Scorpius knocked his father's hand away and leaned against the brick building behind him. The young man's head was spinning. It was bad enough that Lily had gotten her entire family mixed up with that crazy Spencer business, but now...now she had gotten his family involved in it. Now she had gotten his mother involved in it. He started breathing deeply, finding it difficult to catch a proper gasp of air.

"Maybe you should, Scorpius." Draco leaned on the wall beside his son and gave him a sad smile. "Tell her everything, that is. She was so excited about this Lily business. She went on for half an hour about what kind of flowers she was going to send the girl. I think she finally settled on...tulips. And she wants you to bring Lily along to the garden party."

Scorpius looked up, horrified.

"I'm sorry. I told her that you were considering coming after I saw you the other night, and she got it into her head that you'd be bringing Lily along with you."

"Mister Malfoy?" Nate's voice cut into the awkward scene as he stepped up to the two blondes. "What a nice surprise to see you two talking." The boy forced a smile and met Scorpius' eyes, his own asking _Is everything alright?_.

"Nate, give me your clothes."

The dark-haired young man just blinked at Scorpius' strange demand.

"I'm serious," Scorpius groaned. "Your clothes are really nice. And I need to look nice. I'm...going to go have dinner with my girlfriend's parents."

* * *

><p><strong>A Note From the Author: Thank you for reading! –Jenna<strong>


	5. Dinner

**Chapter 5: Dinner.**

**.**

Lily felt like a lost, scared little child. She pictured herself as still being five-years-old, hiding in the hall closet because James told her that a monster was running loose in the living room. She was still hiding, still locking herself away to keep from being captured by the monster running free around her. Only this time, the monster was not Albus in a bedsheet, the monster was her own creation of lies and trickery. It had gone too far. It was too much. She knew that.

The red-headed young woman stood silent in the middle of her childhood bedroom. The tiny home in Godric's Hollow had always felt like a safe haven from the big, bad world. She was born in that home—quite literally, in her parents' bedroom—and her fondest family memories lay in that home. The family photos that lined the walls, the daisies in the yard that her and her mother had planted, the purple wallpaper in her bedroom that Albus and James had put up without magic: everything in her old home made her feel loved and at peace. It was only fitting that she confess her deceit in such a place.

The sound of a light knock on the door frame pulled the girl from her silent reverie. She clung tighter to the small teddy bear nestled in her arms and glanced back at her mother's smiling face.

"Your brother and Mai are going to be here any minute." Ginny Potter smoothed her hands down the front of her blouse and tipped her head at her daughter. "When is Spen-uh, sorry, Scorpius...when is he meant to be here?"

"Actually, mum..." Lily placed the stuffed animal onto her old dresser and pulled her hair over her shoulder. "He um...well he's not -"

"Oh, Lily, don't tell me that's he's canceled. This is just too much." The woman closed her eyes and massaged gently at her temples. "Is he really this unreliable?"

"No! Mum, he's not. It's not -" The girl's words were cut off by the sound of the doorbell. "Mum, I -"

"Not right now. That's probably James. Just...come downstairs and let's have a nice dinner. Regardless of the missing party." Ginny put up her hand and turned from the room, marching off before her daughter could say another word.

Lily let out a heavy sigh and threw her head back with dramatic frustration. She took a moment in front of the mirror to compose herself before heading downstairs to see her brother and his fiancée.

James' strong face lit up the moment he spotted his sister at the top of the stairs. "Lily bean, get down here," he called out and Lily huffed at the nickname she always pretended to dislike. The young man pulled the red-head into a warm embrace and looked up the stairs behind her. "Where is he? Mum said this was the big day when we all finally got to meet this Spencer bloke." His hazel gaze scanned the landing, then fell back on his sister in confusion.

"James, give her a minute to breathe," came a soft voice from behind the eager Potter. Mai was a petite girl, with porcelain skin and silken dark hair that hung to her shoulders. Her half-Japanese heritage was clear in her features, most easily recognizable in her dark brown eyes. She embraced her future sister-in-law quickly, no real affection behind the hug.

Mai and Lily had no animosity between them, but they had never truly spent any alone time together or bothered bonding in all the years James had been dating her. Neither seemed to mind; they each had their own social circles and kept to them. They were three years apart in school, so their paths had never crossed when James wasn't involved. Mai was respectful of how much Lily got along with James, and never tried to interfere with their brother-sister time. Likewise, Lily had never spoken ill of the girl or found anything against her. So there had never come a time when the two were at odds. There were days in which Lily wished she had a better relationship with the girl who was about to become family, but she didn't see much hope in changing things, not in the near future at least.

"She can breathe. I just wanna meet this bloke is all. Now, I've prepared a full set of questions for him. I hope he doesn't have anywhere to be tonight, because I brought along some Veritaserum to use during the interrogation."

"He's kidding." Mai tucked back her hair and threw James a look that revealed she wasn't so sure if he was actually kidding or not. "At least, he better be," she added in a nervous giggle.

Ginny put her hand on her son's head and ruffled his messy black locks. "So much like your father. I took a vial of the very same away from him this morning."

Lily would have found all the playful exchange amusing if she didn't have a pit of guilt twisting her stomach. "Guys, I have to tell you all something." She tugged helplessly at the hem of her blouse and twisted her face in distress.

"I hope it's that dinner is ready, because I'm starving." Harry's voice carried from the hallway before he joined the rest of his family in the home's entryway. He threw his arm around James' shoulders and gave him a sneaky grin. "Did you bring the potion? Your mum swiped mine off me."

"You two settle down." Ginny pushed the male Potters apart and started shooing them towards the dining room. "Go sit. Dinner _is_ ready." She laughed as the two bounded out of sight and rolled her eyes when she could hear them taking seats at the table. The woman put her arms around Mai and embraced her warmly before also sending the young woman into the kitchen. "Come on, Lily. If he's not coming, then we'll just enjoy this dinner without him."

"But mum, just _wait_." Lily stamped her foot like an insolent child and spun around, turning her back to her mother. "Just listen to me for a minute. Please."

"Lily..." Ginny's voice took on instant worry. "Honey, what's wrong." She laid her hand on her daughter's shoulder and tried to turn her around.

Before Lily could say a word, the doorbell rang again. The red-heads both turned, Ginny with a smile, and Lily with confusion on her face. The older woman pulled open the door and lit up. Standing in the doorway was a disheveled looking Scorpius Malfoy. His messy blonde hair looked like he had fought to comb it...and lost. The nice grey slacks and matching sport coat he wore looked a bit too small on him and his light purple socks were showing between his pants' cuff and trainers. His face was flushed, like he'd been exerting himself, perhaps running, just before arriving. He smelled of cologne that didn't fit his style and just an undertone of smoke, as if he had been attempting to cover it up.

"Scorpius! Oh, I'm so glad to see you." Ginny laid her hand on the young man's arm and guided him into the house. "Lily made it seem as though you weren't going to be here today." She threw a scolding glance back at her daughter, then turned back to the blonde. "Come on then, you're just in time."

Scorpius looked back at Lily and offered up a crooked, apologetic smile to her as Ginny pulled him into the dining room. The red-head could only stare back in confusion. She twisted her hands together, fretting about why he was there after he'd told her no. The moment the threesome entered the noisy dining room, all sound ceased. James, Harry, and Mai all stared up at Scorpius as though the man had three heads. Their faces all read the same: _huh_?

James was the first to speak, and it wasn't in a polite tone either. "What the bloody hell is he doing here?" He lazily pointed his finger at Scorpius despite it being obvious who he meant.

"Well...James..." Ginny patted her hand on Scorpius' back and ushered him to the chair across from her son. "Your sister is dating him; that's why he's here." She smiled brightly and took her place beside Harry. "Seems she's been doing a bit of fibbing." The woman unfolded her napkin and kept speaking in a calm, even tone, trying to present the air that nothing was odd whatsoever. "_This_ is Spencer." Ginny put up her fingers and made air quotes as she said _Spencer_.

"Uh, no, mum, this is Scorpius Malfoy." James clearly hadn't caught on to his mother's explanation.

The young Malfoy put up his hands and licked his lips. "Let's not make a big deal about it, alright? Lily felt like she had to hide our...relationship from certain people." He threw a poignant glance at James and looked behind him to find Lily. The red-head was still hovering by the doorway. He extended his hand towards her and met the girl's eyes. "She never meant to lie. She was simply afraid. Don't fault her for that."

Lily let out a shaky breath and slipped her hand into Scorpius'. "I'm so sorry, James. And dad. I really didn't want to lie to anyone..._ever_. But I was scared. Like he said." She tucked her hair behind her ear and slipped into the seat beside Scorpius.

The laugh that escaped James' lips sounded near inhuman. The young man shook his head and wiped at his eyes like he'd just heard a hilarious joke. "Very funny, Lily bean. You don't expect me to actually believe that you are dating..._him_, do you? I mean...that's mental."

"James, watch your mouth." Harry popped the table beside his son's plate and gave him a stern look. "That's no way to speak about your sister's boyfriend." The man looked shaken and confused, but was trying to arrange himself. "Lily, I'm very upset to hear that you've been telling lies, but...I'm glad that you finally came clean about it." He moved his gaze to Scorpius and stretched his lips into a wider smile than was natural. "I know we've met before, at the Ministry, but it's nice to officially meet you."

"You too, Sir." The blonde gave Harry a genuine smile and turned back to Lily. "I've been trying to tell her for months that I wanted to be open about us, but she is awfully stubborn," he confessed in a playful tone. "Aren't you, darling?"

"Stop." James held up his hand and scoffed at the 'couple'. "You -" he pointed at Scorpius once more " - are not dating my sister." He spoke as though it were fact rather than objection. "You just aren't. You can't be. You're...and she's...I mean aren't you...like...well you're..." he trailed off, waving his hand about, begging for someone else to finish his sentence so that he didn't have to. The young man huffed when no one stepped up to support him and rubbed at his eyes with his fingertips. "Mai?"

"Now, James..." Mai laid her hand over her fiancé's arm and gave him a squeeze. "I know that you and Malfoy had a few altercations in school but surely -"

"Altercations?" Ginny's eyes widened as she looked between the mentioned boys for answers.

"It was nothing, Mrs. Weasley. A couple of children, behaving as such." Scorpius flashed a charming smile at the concerned woman before turning his gaze to James. "Water under the bridge, right, Potter? All – in – the – past."

"Is this about that toilet thing Nate mentioned?" Lily asked.

Ginny's eyes grew even wider. "Toilet thing?"

"It's nothing mum!" James pushed back from the table and shook his head. "Like Malfoy said...all water under the bridge." He got to his feet and looked around the table with a tight smile. "Can I get everyone a drink before we start? Mum, Lily, Mai, tea? Dad, a beer?" When he received nods from each party he rested his eyes on Scorpius. "Beer for you and me then?"

"Ah...sure." Scorpius nodded.

"Scorpius you don't have to do that!" Lily spoke up quickly and grabbed the young man's hand. "He's only giving you a hard time. He knows that you don't drink. You don't have to impress anyone."

"Right." Scorpius turned to Lily and smiled. "Because I don't...don't drink? I don't drink." The young man shook his head adamantly and threw a scathing glare at James. "I don't drink."

"I forgot." The young Potter looked down at the blonde with a fake apologetic smile. "Tea then?"

"Yes, he'll have tea." Lily stood up and started pulling on Scorpius' hand. "I need to talk to you for a minute...love. Could you come with me."

"Lily, it's very rude to abandon the table before the meal even starts," Ginny muttered.

"It'll only take a moment, mum. I promise." Without waiting for Scorpius to properly stand up, she dragged the young man from the dining room. Lily didn't stop until the two had reached the other side of the house. She pushed Scorpius into the living room and looked back out of the doorway to make sure they weren't being followed. "What are you doing here?" she hissed, rounding back on him.

"I'm here because you asked me to come." Scorpius kept his voice no higher than a whisper. "Have you forgotten already?"

"I haven't forgotten anything. I've also not forgotten that you told me no."

"Well...something's come up."

"What?"

"My mum, that's what." Scorpius put his fingers on his lips and shook his head. "She got word of this little -" he waved his hand towards the general direction of the dining room "- scheme of yours. Got it in her head that you and me are in love, see? Thinks that we're all sorts of happy. Wants you to be at a party and everything."

"A party?" Lily cringed and looked at the floor. She'd never intended for her lies to seep over into Scorpius' life. Especially so quickly. But she wasn't surprised with Roxanne having known.

"Yeah, a party. So I'm going to sit here and pretend to be with you for your parents, then it's going to work the other way round, alright? You're coming to a nice little garden party."

"Alright." Lily nodded in agreement and smoothed back her hair. "I'm so sorry for this, Mal-Scorpius. I didn't mean for it to get back to your mum. I promise that I'll make everything right when this is over. I'll make sure people know that it was my fault we...broke up or whatever we're going to do."

"Damn right, you will."

Lily gave the young man a reproachful look for his language but said nothing. "I...I really appreciate your help. And the way James is acting, this dinner won't take long."

"Yeah, but now I have to sit through it without even having a drink."

"Sorry about that." Lily looked back out of the door to make sure no one was coming. "If I had known you were coming, I could have prepared you."

"Is there anything else I need to know? Before your brother tries to pull some stunt again."

"Just don't talk too much. They think you're the quiet sort anyway, so it'll go over fine. I'll do the talking and if they start asking too many questions, just...act like you're flustered or something."

"I can do that." Scorpius pulled at the end of his coat and wiggled his shoulders around.

"Oh, and you're a vegetarian."

"I'm a what?" He clapped his hand over his mouth because he'd been a bit louder than intended. "Did you just say I'm supposed to be a bloody vegetarian? That's just fantastic. No drinks, no smokes, no meat. How the hell do people live like that? They must be mental."

"Hey! I happen to _live like that_ thank you very much."

"Well, thank you for proving my point." Scorpius gave the girl a cheeky grin and put his arm around her shoulders. "Shall we go back to dinner then, dearest Lily love of mine."

"Uh, sure but don't call me that." Lily shrugged the young man's arm off of her and headed back towards the dining room.

Scorpius just smirked and followed on her heels. "Anything you say, darling."

"Finally." Harry threw up his hands when the two reentered the room. "I work hard all day, you know? I'd like to have some dinner now, please."

"Sorry, dad."

Lily and Scorpius took their seats and the food was passed around. Scorpius felt like he being punished the moment the tofu-patty hit his plate. The young man prodded it with his fork, half expecting it to jiggle like gelatin.

"Everything alright, Malfoy?" James put on a smug smile as he plopped a large steak onto his plate. He eyed the tofu on the blonde's plate and made a humming sound that seemed to cover a laugh. "Lily said that you love that stuff, didn't you Lily? All about the clean living...just like her."

"I am." Scorpius met the other man's eyes across the table and took a defiant bite of his tofu-patty. If he had been a less stubborn man, he might have spat the stuff right back onto his plate, but no way was he giving James Potter the satisfaction. He ate every single bite of that tofu-patty and half of a second one. He just kept reminding himself that it would be over soon and he could get some real food after they left that night.

The conversation wasn't heavy and Lily was thankful for that. Her family had always been quiet ones when food was being attended to. The few times things would focus on Scorpius, he would stuff a bite into his mouth, making it where she could answer for him. Lily was impressed with his ability to improvise and ramble on without actually answering a question. But she was also disgusted with herself for putting Scorpius into a position where he had to lie and weasel around. She would make it up to him; she kept promising herself that.

But for now, she could only smile and hope that the end of the night came fast.

* * *

><p><strong>A Note From the Author: Thank you for reading! I hope that you enjoyed this chapter. When you're finished here, head on over to my profile page and check out the brand new poll! I'd appreciate the feedback from everyone, and it'll only take a few seconds. :) –Jenna<strong>


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